Latest News & Updates

“The first interaction with police here …  I felt quite invaded. I’d want to know where I legally stand in that situation. I’d want to know how to remove myself from that situation.”

Justin* age 18

Would you know what to do if a police officer ordered you to move on? What if a Protective Services Officer asked you for your name and address? Can a ticket inspector arrest you?

Youthlaw answers these questions and more with StreetSmart: a smartphone-friendly website that explains the law in plain English. Designed to be just as easy to use on your smartphone as it is on a tablet or desktop, StreetSmart has all the legal information you need to know about police, PSOs, ticket inspectors and security guards as well as useful tips on how to handle yourself.

Developed in collaboration with young people and design researchers at Paper Giant, a design consultancy based in Melbourne, StreetSmart is the first website of its kind in Victoria.

“For the young people that Youthlaw help, their mobile phone is the only way they access the Internet, so it was important to combine information that was easy to understand with a design that made it easy to use on a phone,” says Reuben Stanton, Paper Giant’s designer.

Young people were involved closely in the design of the website, through interviews and testing of early versions. 

“During our research with young people, we found that there was no reliable and easy to understand source of information for them to learn about their rights,” says Chris Marmo, a researcher at Paper Giant. “It was important to make something that didn’t read like a typical legal document.”

The website is now live at www.streetsmartvic.com.au

*not his real name

Youthlaw lawyers now available as guest speakers to talk about StreetSmart at schools, VCAL classes and other programs for young people. For more info, contact Annie Davis on 9611 2433 or email education@youthlaw.asn.au

Starting from 1 July 2014, community legal centres such as Youthlaw can’t use federal government funding we receive to engage in policy reform or advocacy work.

The ban has been heavily criticised by community legal advocates as it is contrary to the findings of the recent Productivity Commission report on ensuring everyone has access to justice.

At Youthlaw, we provide direct legal assistance to young people who are experiencing homelessness, escaping family violence, struggling with mental health issues, recovering from substance addiction, dealing with a history of neglect and abuse and feeling like the law is there to persecute them, not protect them. Our services include a drop-in clinic at a homelessness access point, Skype advice to young people in country Victoria and outreach services.

Youthlaw’s role is to provide flexible services that are relevant and effective for young people who need the most help. This means that – as well as providing direct assistance to clients who attend our legal clinics – we draw on these experiences to fight for fairer long-term outcomes for at-risk young people.

For example, Youthlaw has been advocating that the current infringements system operates in a way that has an unfair impact on young people experiencing homelessness, and that fines don’t work to address the reasons why most young people experiencing disadvantage keep getting minor infringements. As a result of this important advocacy from Youthlaw and other community legal centres – in collaboration with a range of government agencies and other community organisations – the Victorian Government has unveiled changes to the infringements system which will implement:

• a streamlined, easier system to keep track of fines;
• a fairer internal review process to deal with fines early;
• a faster method for dealing with fines (without them dragging on for years and being dealt with by already busy courts); and
• ‘work and development permits’ for people to pay their fines through community work or by addressing the reasons why they received the fines in the first place (eg. drug and alcohol counselling, mental health counselling).

We think this ban ignores the importance of community lawyers advocating for what is fair, just and right, and the contributions community legal centres make towards advancing social justice in Australia.

No safety net for young people

The federal budget announced last night hits young people the hardest, with draconian changes to Centrelink support for under 30 year olds:

• Newstart (an extra $45 per week) will only be available for those 25 years or older
• A 6 month waiting period for Youth Allowance and Newstart
• A 6 months on / 6 months off social security scheme that will leave young jobseekers without any form of income for 6 months every year
• Financial penalties for young people who do not accept a job offered
• Tightened eligibility for the Disability Support Pension that will effectively exclude young people experiencing mental health issues

These budget announcements will result in more young people living in poverty and homelessness.

From our experience, young people are keen to study and work, but there are not enough opportunities available for young people experiencing disadvantage to “earn and learn”.

Education and training more expensive

An alarming number of Victorian teenagers are dropping out of school each year. A further 6,000 are dropping out within 12 months of transferring to the state’s vocational education and training system.

These figures confirm what youth services on the ground have been observing – young people as young as 10 seeking help having dropped out of school and left home.

There is a growing and significant number of young Victorians disengaging from school and faring badly. Most have not come to the attention of child protection and are now homeless or living in unstable and/or abusive homes. They are largely invisible to the public and government, and reliant on youth and government services.

Despite these concerns, education funding has been slashed with the highly anticipated Gonski reforms to improve education outcomes for our future leaders being cut.

Following the budget, it will be harder for young people to study with higher course fees for students going to university and requiring young people to repay university debts on lower incomes with higher interest.

Youth unemployment crisis

Young Victorians are struggling to find work. The youth unemployment rate in Victoria has jumped to 12.5% – more than double the national figure. In some areas youth unemployment has risen more than 50% in the past two years.

With such high youth unemployment, young people experiencing disadvantage and struggling to find work will soon be without any income. They will face eviction, poverty and homelessness.

Funding cuts to Youthlaw

Last night, the federal Attorney-General notified community legal centres of how funding cuts of $43.1 million will occur over 2 years.

These cuts will significantly reduce essential legal help for vulnerable and disadvantaged Australians.  Youthlaw was notified that the $150,000 granted by the former Attorney-General to fund Youthlaw Online for 3 years – a free Skype legal advice service to young people without help and struggling in country Victoria – will be cut by $100,000.

The budget has also defunded a number of core community services, including Youth Connections (a program to help young Australians remain engaged with education and training).

We are concerned that young people will become increasingly desperate to fund their basic survival needs when their social security payments are taken away from them. We anticipate an increase in criminal offending and mounting debt for young people experiencing homelessness, at a time when community legal centres and legal aid face crippling funding cuts.